


Fear Divides Us

by KJ_Toons



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Angst, Body Dysphoria, Future Fic, Gender Dysphoria, Genderbending, Link (Legend of Zelda) Needs a Hug, Link (Legend of Zelda) Uses Sign Language, M/M, Mute Link (Legend of Zelda), Other, Steampunk, Technology, Trans Link (Legend of Zelda), Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-26
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:40:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25522258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KJ_Toons/pseuds/KJ_Toons
Summary: For a task on the hero's journey, Link and his best friend, Zeke, must conquer the horrors in the cave of fears. Will they be able to overcome their worst thoughts, or will they forever be lost amongst the darkness?Zeke is supposed to be a male Zelda, but I could not find a tag for it, so uh...I'm telling you now.
Relationships: Link/Original Male Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Fear Divides Us

The first thing Link noticed was how blindlingly _dark_ it was.

It was unsettling, like the darkness was reaching to his inner core to try and yank any light he has out of his skin. He could barely see his hand in front of his face.

He couldn't hear the familiar sound of Zeke's footsteps, which just made him worry even more. It was like his companion had vanished into the gloom, and it had swallowed him whole.

Suddenly, there was light.

Link squinted his eyes and held his arms up as the lights suddenly came into existence, lighting up what looked like...a ballroom? And it was full of people!

He looked around, trying assess what was going on. There was music playing, and it sounded like a waltz. Men were twirling woman around in their long, floor-length dresses. Those types of dresses looked very inconvenient, he was glad he didn't have to wear one.

He sauntered about the crowd gathered around the dance floor. People were talking merrily to each other, drinking wine and chatting with each other about trivial things. Why did this room feel so...wrong to him? Was he forgetting something?

"Excuse me?"

Link turned around at the sound of a voice. It was a young man, who looked to be around his age, and he was fairly tall. Link had always felt insecure about his short stature, even though he tended to pack a punch. The man took a bow and held his hand out.

"Would you care to join me for this dance, my lady?"

My _lady?_ Link was a man, he was no lady. An all-too-familiar feeling rose into his chest, a lingering disdain that he hadn't felt in years. He quickly surpressed the feeling as he glared at the man.

"Is something wrong? Have I upset you?" He righted himself and clasped his hands behind his back. No man should be treating another man with this much politeness, Link usually reserved it for specifically talking to girls.

Link signed _I am a man, stop calling me a girl_ in hopes that he would understand, but to no avail. Link had no way to communicate as the man looked confused.

"I'm afraid I do not understand, my lady."

My _lady,_ my _lady!_ What was with this guy? Link knew perfectly well that he was a man and he _looked like_ a man, so why was this guy constantly saying otherwise?

Link looked down at himself, and froze.

He was wearing a dress. A white dress that was bedazzled in sparkles. The disdain in his chest started to bubble as he noticed his nails were painted, too.

He looked at the man, who was giving Link a concerned look. Link shook his head and hurried off, and realized he was wearing _heels._ How inconvenient.

It wasn't too long before Link found a mirror in one of the large hallways surrounding the ballroom. It was lit by soft moonlight, and Link could see the large garden through the elaborate windows. He wearily approached the mirror, and was barely able to stay in front of it.

He wanted to run away from it as fast as he could. He felt disgust and revulsion at himself as he saw himself in the mirror.

He had a rather thin frame, his muscles from many years of work at the knight academy were gone. His dress was a long and flowy white, and did not cover his shoulders, which were thin and bony. He felt exposed and disgusted as he quickly wrapped his arms around his chest in shame. He was wearing makeup, he could feel the different powders and creams on his face. There were sparkles decorating his cheeks, and his hair was tied up in an elegant bun at the top of his head, his _long_ hair.

He only stood in front of the mirror for as long as he could stand before quickly hurrying past it. He felt so _wrong._ He wasn't supposed to be like this, he was _never_ supposed to be like this. But by the goddesses, he was cursed in a female body and utterly _damned_ them for making him like this.

Why couldn't the goddesses just put him in the right body!?

\------------------------------------

Zeke watched in anticipation as the darkness cleared. He was standing at the top of a tower, and everything was red.

He kept reminding himself that what he was seeing right now wasn't real, and to keep a level head no matter what happened. He wasn't going to get out of this alive otherwise, and he prayed to the goddesses that Link didn't fall for the cave's tricks.

He watched at a distance as Link was fighting the mighty King Ganondorf. He was getting some very nasty critical hits in, while still managing to be rather injured himself. Zeke watched in anticipation as Link _finally_ ran the master sword straight through Ganondorf's skull, ultimately killing him.

Link let go of the hilt, turned to Zeke, and grinned.

The scene blurred, and changed. Zeke reminded himself constantly of his situation: _this isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real._

Now he was inside the castle with Link. The now hero of future Hyrule was conversing excitedly with Princess Zelda in sign, and the two of them seemed positively...joyful. Zeke couldn't discern what Link was saying, but he definetely got the message from Zelda's next actions.

Zelda hopped off her newly claimed throne, and passionately kissed him.

Zeke felt his heart shatter. Link, _his_ Link, was kissing the princess. It was inevitable, he knew it was coming, but still. It tore his weak, susceptible heart apart.

What was he telling himself again?

The scene blurred and shifted again. This time, Zeke could hear wedding bells and the sounds of cheers and cries of happiness.

He was watching as Link got married to the princess, and he was serving as his best man.

His felt like his very soul was being ripped from his chest and stomped on as Link ran down the aisle with Zelda at his side. The pair of them ran into the backseat of a very prestigious looking car, Link closing the door behind him. He and Zelda waved, and Zelda threw the bouquet into the crowd as the car drove off. The words "Newly Weds" were painted onto the back of the car.

This should be a very happy occasion, but Zeke felt numb, and empty.

The scene blurred again, and Zeke found himself standing alone in a very shabby-looking shack. There was a lone table and chair in the middle of the room, and a letter resting on the table. Zeke walked over and picked it up, fearing for what it would say.

_Dear Zeke,_

_I am very sorry about this, but I'm afraid I won't be coming back to the capital. Zelda and I are absolutely in love with this lively town we've found, and we cannot bear to leave. Thank you for being my best friend, I hope you have a good life_

_Sincerely,_

_Link_

Zeke felt like a knife had been stabbed right through his heart.

Link had completely shredded Zeke to pieces. But hey, at least he was happy.

Zeke curled up in the corner of the room, and cried.

\---------------------------------

Link kept an arm wrapped tightly around his waist, wiping the tears of hatred from his eyes as he slowly strode down the hall. He avoided every window reflection and mirror, absolutely terrified of what he would see.

"Excuse me, Ms. Linkle?"

Link wanted to run, silently screaming at the sound of the wrong name. He turned around and faced the person instead.

It was King Ganondorf. He was dressed in elaborate robes, and held himself confidently and boldly. Link wanted to tear this stupid king apart, limb from limb.

"You look distressed, My dear, what is troubling you?"

That was when Link suddenly remembered something. He noticed the king was holding a clipboard and pen, so he ripped the items out of his hands and started to write.

"Miss, I'm afraid-" Link cut him off with a hand, and held up the clip board.

He glared straight at the king. In a very furious and large scrawl, he'd written out a message.

_WHERE'S ZEKE._

King Ganondorf hummed in thought for a moment. "Oh! That childhood friend of yours. Linkle, don't you remember?"

Linkle slowly shook his head.

"It seems your memory has failed you from remembering such an important event. He died during a castle raid quite some years ago."

Link felt a cold numbness spread from his chest to the tips of his fingers. Zeke was _dead?_ That couldn't be true, his best friend was a warrior! His best friend was a _knight!_ (Unlike him, apparently).

"Quite the tragic event for you, my lady. You locked yourself in your chambers for weeks, not even Zelda could coax you out."

Link felt numb, cold, and in utter disbelief. The realization hit him in the face life a brick.

Zeke was _dead._ The boy he had been best friends with since childhood was _gone._ The boy with beautiful locks of platinum blonde hair who had taken care of him during the plague had _left._

Link felt silent, heavy sobs wrack his body as he collapsed to the floor, curling in on himself and just wanting to disappear.

He wanted the whole world to disappear. _He_ wanted to disappear. He just wanted his pain and for this stupid, _wrong_ body to go away.

_Wait._

Something was off. He had a very strong gut feeling that he was forgetting something very important. He wasn't sure what, but it had to be something.

"Ms. Linkle, my goodness, we need to get you to your chambers!"

Wait, _Miss?_ Hadn't he been addressed as he before? Now that he thought about it, he had. Before this ballroom thing, he'd been a boy, and everyone called him a boy.

That's when everything suddenly came rushing back to him. He had been Link, the destined hero chosen by the goddesses who had been born in the wrong body _on purpose_ so Ganondorf would never realize it was him. He'd been on an adventure, with _Zeke_ , and the third trial they had faced was walking into a cave plagued by darkness.

_A cave that showed you your worst fears._

Link suddenly felt much stronger than before upon this realization. Did he not represent the Triforce of courage?

Link pushed himself to his feet, nearly tripping over the dress as he did so.

"Miss...?" The king asked hesitantly. Link looked straight at the king, and smirked.

He then began to sign.

_My name is Link. I am a boy, my best friend is still very much alive, and I'm stronger than you'll ever be._

The scene around him began to tear itself apart. The darkness let out an ear-piercing wail as the scene around him tore away, shredding itself into thousands of pieces. King Ganondorf disappeared in a puff of smoke, unveiling one final, demonic face before it vanished.

Link could dimly see the walls of the cave. He quickly patted himself down. No chest, no curves, and he had plenty of muscle. He sighed in relief, releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was back, back in his beautiful, male body that he now appreciates more than ever. Sure, he still had female appendages, but this body was so much better than the one he had been in.

It felt like coming out all over again, the heavy burden lifted off his shoulders and he felt a rush of joy and complete and utter freedom at the realization that he was finally himself.

He was only able to appreciate himself for a moment, however, when he suddenly picked up on the sound of sobbing.

He looked to his right. The dark, empty void was still there. Zeke was still trapped in there, and he could hear him crying.

He had to help him.

Link pushed himself to his feet, and plunged straight into the void with determination burning like a bonfire in his soul.

He found himself in a room. It was shabby, the wood was rotting and peeling from the walls. A small table sat in the middle of the room, along with a lone chair. On the table was an open letter.

Link picked it up, reading it over as the color drained from his face.

So this was Zeke's worst fear, that Link would leave him. That Link would choose the princess over his best friend.

Link looked to the corner. Zeke was curled into a ball, sobbing into his knees. He looked so small and helpless, it broke Link's heart. He knew Zeke was so much stronger than this, this must have absolutely broke him for him to look so vulnerable.

Link vowed, right then and there, that he would never leave his friend. He was never planning to, but Zeke seemed to believe he would.

The dirty blonde Hylian crossed the room and knelt next to his friend. He took his armored glove off, and dragged his fingers through Zeke's hair, gently massaging his scalp.

Zeke's sobbing quelled itself, and the platinum blonde dared to come out of his deep and dark place to see what was in front of him. It was Link, his handsome, smiling Link. That's when he suddenly realized, again, that what had happened wasn't real. Link was still right here, giving him a gentle smile. Link had never left.

Just like with Link's scene, the shabby, rotting wood tore itself apart. The letter shredded to pieces, and the darkness let out a shriek before fading once and for all.

The two friends stared each other for a long while, both just absorbing each other's presence. Link, with his dirty blonde hair, sky blue eyes, dirty and scuffed clothing, and the many cogs that adorned his outfit. Zeke, with his platinum blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, torn and ragged tunic and black combat boots.

Suddenly, Zeke lunged at Link, wrapping himself tightly around the boy and refusing to let go. Link returned the favor, clinging tightly to his best friend. They both sobbed into each other's embrace, Link silently doing so, as the tears of happiness hit them both quite hard.

In the end, both boys agreed that they would never leave each other's side, and would never go through an experience like that again.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, I hoped you enjoyed that! This was hella fun to write so I hope it turned out well.
> 
> That's all folks!


End file.
